Apr 17, 2020

Free Purdue webinar planned on COVID-19 impact on food markets, agriculture

Join the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture for a free webinar examining COVID-19’s impact on U.S. food and agriculture from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 20.

“COVID-19 is disrupting U.S. food distribution and marketing, reducing demand for key agricultural commodities and producing severe financial pressure among agricultural producers,” says James Mintert, professor and director of Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Therefore, it is important that we begin discussing these issues so producers can brace for what agriculture could be facing over the next few months.”

During the webinar Mintert, along with agricultural economists Jayson Lusk and Michael Langemeier, will discuss what has happened to retail and wholesale food markets and how supply chain issues have produced retail stock-outs. They will also examine the impact that demand destruction is having on corn and soybean markets, what it means for crop revenue, and how it could impact program payments for producers who recently enrolled in either USDA’s ARC or PLC programs. The impact on meat and livestock markets has been especially severe, and the three will discuss how packing plant shutdowns are affecting both livestock producers and retail consumers.

The webinar is free, but attendees must register in the webinar section of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture website. Once registered, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a link to view the webinar live at the scheduled time. For those who cannot join the live webinar, a follow-up email will guide them to a website to view the webinar recording and download the slides used.

All three agricultural economists will be available for interviews following the webinar. James Mintert can be contacted at [email protected], Jayson Lusk at [email protected] and Michael Langemeier at [email protected].

– Kami Goodwin, Purdue University